Guido Alberto Saldini and Elena Morelli couldn’t have asked for a better part of town when they established Aria a year and a half ago. Of course, it did help to have powerful pals: The pair had been spoiling patrons at their Noce Restaurant on Queen West with critically lauded high-end Italian cuisine for decades, and those regulars included higher-ups at Telus. As the communications giant prepared to break ground on its 30-storey building at 25 York St., Saldini and Morelli were offered a vast space on the main floor. Cornering Maple Leaf Square across from the Air Canada Centre, Aria is sitting pretty in the heart of the construction boom south of Front St.: luring Bay Street pros, condo dwellers, tourists, and the after-game and concert crowds.

The Vibe: Contemporary and urban, it’s the kind of modern Euro-styled decor one sees in the classier venues on this side of the Atlantic. Drinkers and diners marvel at architect Stephen Pile’s hand-pegged walnut-wood display that lines the nine-metre-high ceiling and two-storey wine cellar as they’re seated at white marble table tops and chairs imported from Italy. Toward the front, find large spherical light fixtures that brighten the bar as the night progresses. On the other side of the floor-to-ceiling windows, a heated patio stays open to accommodate the extra post-ACC event throngs that pour into an already busy venue. Of that group, concertgoers who are close to the mortgage payoff and have a little more jingle in their pocket frequent Aria the most, says Saldini, adding the house has been packed after recent Neil Young and Barbra Streisand shows. He does note that Aria doesn’t bank on ACC business: “We look on it as gravy. If we depended on it, we’d be dead,” he says, pointing to the ongoing NHL lockout as an example.

The Drinks: Sommelier and bar manager Kyle Stefanato tinkers with tart digestifs. The one he’s currently pushing is the week-and-a-half-old Duomo, rum infused with saffron (sometimes retailing for $5,000 per pound, it’s one of the most expensive spices you can buy). The rum is then mixed with half an ounce of Limoncello, orange marmalade, lime juice, cherry bitters and egg white, served with orange zest and Amarena Fabbri cherries ($14). The Ladies Grace includes Plymouth Gin and Amaretto Disaronno mixed with grapefruit juice, hibiscus water and orange bitters (also $14). On the grappa list, Saldini includes Marzadro Le Dic Otto Lune Stravecchia ($18) and Berta Grappa di Moscato 2001 ($50). Perroni is the top beer here ($7), while shareable bottles from Tuscany’s Bruton brewery are on the way.

The Food: Bar snacks include fried potato gnocchi and smoked ricotta ($15), Granchetti Fritti (baby crabs for $11) and fried lobster and shrimp ($21). Popular mains include the braised beef short ribs done with Cynar, mascarpone mash and rapini ($29).

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